Mekkar lived in a nice house that his parents bought not
long after he was born, but after awhile it required expanding to meet the
families’ needs. Mekkar’s family grew in size after his younger brothers were
born and then the home actually became a real settled permanent dwelling for
them. For larger scale additions and projects related to the house that his
papa didn’t have time to do himself would require some materials and needed
labor from further down south. Henrik would make all the arrangements for this,
which included some input from his mama. Some of these house projects were
carried out in parts over a period of years. Some bribery, also known as
locality charges and fees, was in order to get the job done.
The house had a large underground basement area built that
was more than just a cellar. It always seemed to Mekkar to be cold down there
because it part of it was built into the permafrost, which is only a short
distance below ground. The cellar and the ground floor are not considered by
the national standard as stories, only the levels above ground. Mekkar’s
parents had a whole extra story, which spanned the length of the home, added to
the top of the house along with an upstairs attic for bedrooms and activity rooms
for the boys.
For a long time before, Mekkar had pestered his mama and
papa about having his own room, especially for being the oldest child in his
immediate family. Yet, Mekkar was not successful in his avocation for a
Jacuzzi. Mekkar felt that being the oldest should count for something since he
had much more responsibility than his younger siblings combined or so he
reasoned with his parents. At the same time, since Alf grew up very fast and
was already taller than Mekkar in no time at all, Mekkar got sick and tired of
having to share a room and sleeping in an oversized king sized bed along with
his younger brother.
Alf drove Mekkar crazy with his continual tossing and
turning and swinging his arms in his sleep. Even though Mekkar would sleep near
the far edge of his side of the large bed, once in awhile he might receive an
elbow in the back or side. Mekkar, would then get ticked off and return the
favor back. It was so difficult for Mekkar to get some shut eye because of
Alf’s crazy sleep habits that Mekkar would grab some pillows and other blankets
and go to sleep in a different room of the house.
Finally, after a few construction projects were completed
and built each of the three boys had their own bedroom, a hang out room with a
pool table and a big television, and a trophy room in which each sibling had
their own wall for jerseys, etc. Outside a cool club fort was constructed with
seating for about ten kids. Also, Mekkar could never forget about the sauna
too! The sauna was one of those special projects added to Mekkar’s family home
for a variety of reasons.
Many homes in the area had home saunas, either attached to
the main dwelling or as a separate small building. Those that have the saunas
could be invite others over or go to one of the community ones available for
public use, since this was normal daily custom for many in the area. Mekkar
understood that these hot rooms were invented, in this area of the planet, to
provide personal relaxation and a few health benefits for the residents. It was
also a place of interaction also.
Many business deals are arranged and conducted while taking
a sauna together. For example, heads of state and big time corporate executives
have negotiated some business matters there. This is true especially in larger
cities down south similar to head honchos who wheel and deal on gold courses in
other parts of the world. This activity could be participated in chilly weather
outside during wintertime and it is very adaptable too! Some individuals, like
Mekkar’s parents, would go to the sauna for a bit of solitude and what they
called “self peace time”.
Boy, it would get hot in there with temperatures high enough
to make Mekkar feel like his hair was on fire. Even though he would pour water
on the treated rocks in the sauna to get it nice and toasty, it was still more
comfortable to him compared to a Turkish steam bath. The steam bath air was so
thick with steam that Mekkar could hardly breathe in it. Mekkar went to the
sauna almost every day when he was home and there was still room for more
people. Some people using the sauna would tap or lightly whip themselves to
stimulate and improve blood circulation and get a person’s skin pores to open
up. Some in the hot room quickly drink a beer or two to prevent such quick dehydration,
but would get someone buzzed twice as fast. Afterward they might go outside to
roll in the cold winter snow or jump into the shallow unfrozen part of the
river. Rolling in the powder gave Mekkar a numbing sensation, and he was
certain that after drinking in the sauna that was the only reason for the odd
feeling.
Mekkar preferred to air dry by walking around outside after
exciting a hot room to let the pores close on their own instead of using other
methods to shock them closed. The shock the pores closed process could be
through coming into contact with extreme cold or heat. However, Mekkar
preferred his way because he felt that his body had been cleansed and
refreshed. At times, Mekkar would invite a few of his closest friends over to
the sauna in his house. He figured it was being used for its intended purpose,
to entertain guests. Of course, Mekkar would also go to the community saunas,
with his friends, to meet girls.
However, Mekkar’s papa had constructed this particular sauna
with other additional functions in mind such as heating up the water to provide
more hot water showers, etc... This hot room was always turned on and kept in a
warm state because you never knew who or when some guest might drop by the
house. Thus, an all inclusive practicality was a requirement for the original
building and the presence of the hot room along with the usual benefits for
those who enjoyed its medicine.
The Far North Native thought that Alf always wanted to test
the limits of the sauna’s added hot water production. Alf would proceed to let
the upstairs bathroom fog up something fierce, even with the powerful vent fan
running, because Mekkar’s brother would turn the shower knob all the way to the
hottest setting. Alf then would fall asleep on the large bathmat in the middle
of the bathroom floor, while letting the hot water flow from the shower head. Mekkar
suspected that Alf would just pass out from the hot steam. Since this was a
frequent occurrence Mekkar would then after a certain amount of time have his
youngest brother Niillas or another family member pick the lock and open the
bathroom door.
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